Pedestrian accidents, a concern for the elderly

We came across an article by Tina Susman writing for the Los Angeles Times, Crosswalks are increasingly deadly for the elderly. In the article, Susman discusses a serious problem cities across America and that is pedestrian safety. Of special concern is the safety of our increasing elderly population who are disproportionately killed in pedestrian accidents.

In 2009, there 4,092 people killed in pedestrian accidents. The rate of pedestrian deaths to the elderly — those 70 and over — is 62% higher than for people younger than 70 according to the Federal Accident Reporting System (FARS). In 37% of the fatal accidents among people age 60 or older, the pedestrian occurred at an intersection.

One study that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2002 found that marked crosswalks with out signals or stop signs were more dangerous for pedestrian-motor vehicle accidents to the elderly than those without signals or stops.

Elderly people have various problems associated with crosswalks including:

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in pedestrian accidents and the family of those killed.Related Posts: